Brian Cushing returns to work for Texans, says knee is fine

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Fifth-year inside linebacker Brian Cushing didn’t participate in team drills with the Texans on Friday and won’t for an indeterminate time, but he says his surgically repaired knee feels 100 percent and won’t be a drag on how he performs this season. That’s good news for both the defense and Cushing personally, since he’s entering the final year of his contract.

Is he thinking about the money the torn anterior cruciate he suffered in the fifth game last season may have potentially cost him? In a word, Cushing says no.

“It’s nerve-wracking if you let it be,” he said. “I’m just going to play football. I know if I take care of business and play the way I’ve played, (the contract) will take care of itself.”

Cushing will be limited to individual drills for a few days, then progress to seven-on-seven before he shoulders the full load he’s expected to carry once the season begins.

“It feels like I’ve never missed a step,” he said of getting back to work. “Just being back with my teammates is pretty excited. We’ve got a plan and a lot of it is based on how I feel. This is the first day. I’ll go back in every day and talk about how I feel and we’ll play it by ear as we go along.”

The Texans defense suffered without Cushing in 2012 and, although he wouldn’t personally suggest there was a direct correlation, he did say, “I think we’ll be a better team when we’re back. That’s just the kind of confidence I have.”